QEP Spring Series: Faculty Workshops

Study Skills for the New College Student

This presentation will provide an overview of the EDUC 1300 – Effective Learning: Strategies for College Success course. Theoretical models of strategic learning, cognition, and motivation serve as the conceptual basis for the introduction of college-level student academic strategies. The course focuses on a broad range of knowledge, skills, mindsets, and behaviors that support the learning and success of our students in school and in life. Four key elements reflect the overall framework of the course: Personal Skills, Learning Skills, Life Skills, and Mastery Skills. Students use assessment instruments (e.g., learning and personal inventories) to help them identify their own strengths and weaknesses as strategic learners. Students are ultimately expected to integrate and apply the learning skills discussed across their own academic programs and become effective and efficient learners. Breakfast will be served prior to the presentation.

Presenter Information:Sharon Frederick, has worn many hats! As Dr. Frederick, she has worked at ACC for the past 20 years, having directed an array of programs to include: Early College High School, Learning Labs, Academic Testing Centers, Student Recruitment, Supplemental Instruction, Bridge Programs, Adult Ed, and supervised her own campus The ACC Robbins Academy. As Professor Frederick, she currently serves as the Department Chair for General Studies & Student Development and SDEV Professor. And as Major Frederick, she served for 24 years in the US Air Force Reserves and the TX Army National Guard, retiring February 2011 after having served in Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in Kosovo in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and her last deployment in Iraq from 2009-2010. Her passion for education and deep commitment to helping students reach their full potential speaks for itself! Her mantra is: “All students CAN and WILL succeed” and whether it is Soldiers, staff or students, she instills in them to “mark their work with excellence.” And finally, the BEST hat of all is “Grams” to her beloved nine year old grandson.

New Developments in Developmental Math

The first 45 minutes of the session will be a round table lunch (lunch will be provided) to discuss preparing our students for college level math. After lunch Gary Rockswold and Terry Krieger will conduct the following presentation: Teaching developmental math is an important challenge, because math opens doors for our students and allows them additional opportunities. This presentation discusses some research, ideas, and philosophies for making math more accessible for a larger portion of our student body. In addition, a new Interactive Developmental Math (IDM) program will be discussed and demonstrated. IDM allows students to be guided interactively through an entire course in manner similar to how a live tutor would teach. IDM is particularly helpful for students who have difficulty reading the text or organizing their own study plan.

Presenter Information:For over 30 years Gary Rockswold has taught mathematics, computer science, and physical science at a wide variety of levels, including high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. He received his bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College and his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Iowa State University. He has been a principal investigator of parallel computing at the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute and is an emeritus professor of mathematics at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He is an author and has published numerous mathematics textbooks for Pearson Education at both the developmental and precalculus levels. His motivation for writing is to make mathematics more inclusive for a greater number of students by presenting mathematics in a contextual, meaningful way.

Terry Krieger has taught mathematics at the middle school, high school, vocational, community college, and university levels. His undergraduate degree in secondary education is from Bemidji State University in Minnesota, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received his MA in mathematics from Minnesota State University–Mankato. In addition to his teaching experience in the United States, Terry has taught mathematics in Tasmania, Australia, and in a rural school in Swaziland, Africa, where he served as a Peace Corps volunteer. He has been involved with various aspects of mathematics textbook publication for more than 20 years and has joined his friend Gary Rockswold as co-author of a developmental math series published by Pearson Education.